The Killing Competions
Those in charge of the Japanese forces went so far as to use killing "competitions" as a way to boost morale among the troops. They even organized interview teams and sent newspaper reporters to conduct interviews with the "winners" of these competitions to kill people. The interviews were intended to praise the actions of the killers and to encourage the rank and file soldiers to improve their efficiency. One of the atrocities in these "killing competitions" occurred at the foot of Nanjing's Purple Gold Mountain and reports about it were published in major newspapers all around the world. The savage and brutal behavior [exhibited in this incident] is simply beyond the imagination of any human being. The facts of this case are as follows: Prior to the invasion and occupation of Nanjing, there were two savage beasts in the Katagiri Detachment stationed at Jurong [a prefecture outside of Nanjing] named Mukai Toshiaki [向井敏明] and Noda Takeshi [野田毅]. These two men, both sub-lieutenants, were honored for exhibiting the strongest samurai spirit by having the title "brave soldier" bestowed upon them. Encouraged by their senior officials, they agreed to engage in a killing "competition." Whoever could kill a full 100 people before the invasion and occupation of Nanjing was completed would take the prize. When the Japanese forces arrived at Tang Mountain, Mukai Toshiaki had only killed eighty-nine people, while Noda Takeshi had killed a mere seventy-eight. Having failed to reach their goal of 100 dead, the competition could not yet be brought to a close.
Although neither of these two savage beasts had been able to take the prize, the senior officers did not let their labors go to waste. They repeatedly meted out encouragement and rewards, urging them to sustain their efforts. The Osaka newspaper Mainichi Shinbun along with the Tokyo newspapers Nichinichi Shinbun and the Japan Advertiser (English edition) all reported this killing competition.
Mukai Toshiaki and Noda Takeshi did not stop there. Not wanting to let down their superiors, the two men continued their "competition" at the foot of Purple Gold Mountain after the Japanese forces had entered Nanjing. Although Mukai Toshiaki had already killed 106 people and Noda Takeshi had already killed 105 [a headline in the picture above records these numbers], it was not clear who had reached the 100 mark first. Since there was no way to prove who had reached the goal first, there was no way to make a final judgement on who the winner was. But both men recognized that this was merely a "friendly wager" or, as Mukai Toshiaki called it, an "amusement." Since a winner could not be determined at that point, they agreed to reset the target to 150 people, or maybe to extended it to a full 1,000. They would decide later, depending on whether or not they could sustain their interest in the competition. One source reported that Mukai Toshiaki had already racked up 250 kills which put him ahead of Noda Takeshi, so Mukai invited Noda to make it a race to 1,000.
